Keep a close eye on your furry, feathered, or scaly friends even when you have to step away from the car. Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has rolled out a fresh software update designed to bring peace of mind to animal lovers who frequently travel with their pets. Following the deployment of the new 2026.36 software update, owners of Rivian R2 vehicle models now have the convenient option to place a live Pet Cam feed directly onto their smartphone’s lock screen. This innovative feature ensures that whether you are running a quick errand, grabbing a coffee, or stepping out of the vehicle for just a few moments, you can keep visual tabs on your critter without needing to actively unlock your phone and navigate through a complicated menu system.
The newly introduced Pet Cam feature cleverly leverages the high-definition interior camera built into R2 models to securely beam the vehicle’s interior straight to the official Rivian mobile application. Owners are given flexible viewing choices depending on their specific needs in the moment. If you want to watch your pet in real time to ensure they are resting comfortably or just to catch whatever antics they might get up to while you are away, you can pull up a full livestream feed. Alternatively, if you simply want a quick and effortless check-in, the system can display a regularly refreshed snapshot directly on your app dashboard or pinned conveniently to your phone’s lock screen. For privacy and security reasons, the active Pet Cam session can be terminated immediately with a simple, straightforward tap right on the vehicle’s main infotainment display whenever you return to the cabin.
In tandem with the lock-screen camera integration, this latest software release brings further critical improvements to the dedicated Pet Mode that Rivian has previously made available to help maintain safe and animal-friendly climate control inside the vehicle when human passengers are not on board. Up until now, activating this climate safety feature required drivers to set it up before stepping out of the automobile. With the rollout of the 2026.36 update, owners can now remotely enable Pet Mode directly from the Rivian app if they happen to realize they forgot to toggle it on before leaving the vehicle. This remote accessibility eliminates the anxiety of realizing halfway across a parking lot that the climate control might not be running. Furthermore, to prevent any dangerous mistakes, the system now incorporates a necessary confirmation prompt whenever a user toggles Pet Mode on or off from the mobile application. This added safety layer ensures that accidental screen touches will not inadvertently change the vehicle’s settings, thereby avoiding any potential situations that could put a canine companion, feline friend, or awesome avian at risk. These updated climate and control features will be made widely available across all eligible models from the company.
Beyond the major updates dedicated to pet owners and animal safety, the software package also brings new technology to the R2 vehicle lineup in the form of the Rivian Assistant. The advanced artificial intelligence voice assistant, which has already found a home in the manufacturer’s R1 models, is finally making its official debut in the R2. The AI-powered voice assistant can be directed by drivers to effortlessly handle a wide variety of routine tasks around navigation, in-car entertainment, and climate management without requiring the driver to manually search through dashboard menus. By integrating conversational voice controls, Rivian continues to refine the user experience inside the cabin, allowing drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes focused firmly on the road ahead while managing the vehicle’s core digital ecosystem.
